I Am A Woman

I am a woman.

I am one day old and I’m already forced to wear pink.

I am one year old and I can’t play with the “boy” babies.

I am two years old and I’m given dolls even though I want the trucks.

I am three years old and I have to wear dresses and flowers in my hair.

I am four years old and I am told to close my legs.

I am five years old and boys are punching me but adults tell me “oh they like you”.

I am six years old and I am sent to the principal’s office for wearing a tank top.

I am seven years old and I am told that I will be a heart breaker.

I am eight years old and the boys call me too emotional even though my grandmother just passed.

I am nine years old and I am told I’m too skinny and not pretty.

I am ten years old and I am stared at by the male adults at the pool party.

I am eleven years old and I am not allowed to join my friends in a game of football.

I am twelve years old and a man follows me home on my way home from school.

I am thirteen years old and the boys laugh at me for being small chested.

I am fourteen years old and I’m told to stay in the kitchen on Thanksgiving.

I am fifteen and I am catcalled for the first time.

I am sixteen and now I’m made fun of for having a big chest.

I am seventeen and I am called a slut while my boyfriend is praised.

I am eighteen and men tell me I am legal age now.

I am nineteen and people say I’ll never make it in medical school.

I am twenty and my teacher offers an A+ for a “favor”.

I am twenty-one and I am told I’m “asking for it” when I drink.

I am twenty-two and I lost my job because my male coworker touched me.

I am twenty-three and I’m called a prude.

I am twenty-four and I am told to wear more makeup at work.

I am twenty-five and I’m told to smile more.

I am twenty-six and he cheated.

I am twenty-seven and I’m questioned for liking comic books and video games.

I am twenty-eight and I am told to lose weight even though I’m considered underweight.

I am twenty-nine and I am terrified because I forgot my pepper spray today.

I am thirty and I am told I’m not getting any younger.

I am forty and I am told I need to get rid of the grey hair.

I am fifty and I am criticized for not shaving my legs.

I am sixty and I am told I should get a breast lift.

I am seventy and I still have not seen someone like me as president.

Society has created a lifetime of biases, stereotypes, and discrimination. From before we are born, we are put in boxes and given labels. Dividing and separating people is not going to make the world better. It’s one thing if you want to label people but it’s another to make people unequal. We are all human at the end of the day and we should all be held to the same standards and expectations. Whether someone is black, white, gay, straight, man, woman, or anything in between. We are all the same. What defines you is your actions and the way you treat the world. Just be kind, check your privileges, and work towards equality.